Fence-post-driving machine.



I M. T. FITZGERALD. FENCE POST DRIVING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT.20, 1910. 1,01 5,947. Patented Jan. 30, 1912..

JVY T- W/ TNESSES M. T. FITZGERALD.

FENCE POST DRIVING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED ssrmzo, 1910.

1,015,947. Patented Jan.30, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

E Co MELVIN '1. FITZGERALD, .013 ROCK ELM, WISCONSIilI.

ori-teat.

Specification of Letters Patent.

FENCE-POST-DRIVING MACHINE.

Patented Jan..30, 1912.

Application filed September 20, 1910. Serial No. 582,911.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I MELVIN T. FITZGER- 7 up. a citizen of the United States, residing at Rock Elm, in the county of Pierce, and State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fence- Post-Driving Machines; and I do hereby declare the following, to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in fence post driving machines and my object is to provide pair of hammers and means to move the same with force into engagement with the upper end of a post.

A further object is to provide means for. operating said hammers.

A further object is to provide means for raising and lowering the hammers.

A further object is to provide'means for controlling the raising and lowering mechanism. and, a further object is to provide a truck upon which the driving mechanism is located.

Other objects and advantages will be hereinafter referred to and more particularly pointed out in the specification and claims.

In the drawings forming a part of this specification, Figure l is a side elevation of my improved driving machine showing the same in operation and one of the hammers delivering a blow to'apost, and, Fig. 2 is an end elevation thereof showing parts broken end portion of which is slidahly mounted a beveled gear 6. said gear 6' being feathered to permit vertical movement of the gear and at the same time cause the gear to rotate with the shaft. Secured to the lower end of q the shaft is a pinion 7, which meshes with the gen r 8 carried by a shaft 9, which shaft also carries a sprocket wheel 10. over which passes a sprocket chain 11. The chain 11 also passes around a drive sprocket. 12 mounted on the power shaft 13 of a suitable engine 14-, which is mounted on the frame 1,

as clearly shown, and it will be seen that as the engineis rotated, the shaft 5 will be rotated through the mediumof the gears, for the purpose later described.

Mounted within the guide-ways of the uprights 3 are slide blocks of a frame 15 carrying a horizontal shaft 16 provided with a beveled gear 17 meshing with thebeveled gear 6, which isprovided with a collar portion connected to the frame 15 by a strap 18, so that the gears will be held in mesh'when the frame is moved up and down. The shaft 16' carries an elliptical member 19 provided with hammers 20,

which are adapted to drive a po'st, as clearly shown in Fig. 1, when the shaft is rotated first one hammer and then the other coming into engagement with the top of the post As the hammers are pivotally attached to the member .19, they will immediately rebound from the impact of the hammer with the post and as the member 19 is rotating the hammer delivering the blow, will readily pass by the post without again coming in engagement therewith.

In order to move the frame,15 up and down in the guideways, I provide a double rack member 21, which is pivotally connected at its upper end to the frame 15, and

.is provided with a longitudinal slot 22, in

which is slidably mounted a roller carried by a link 23, which ispivotally connected to a lever 24 mounted upon the frame 1, and said lever is connected to a lever 25 by a rod 26, so that the double rack member can be swung for the purpose later described. The

hand lever 25 carries a latch 27 adapted to engage a segmental rack 28 secured upon l 1e frame 1 adjacent the lever 25, whereby t 1e hand lever can be locked in its adjusted position.

Mounted in a suitable bearing 29 secured upon one of the uprights 3 is ashaft 30, which is provided with-a pinion 31 at one end, adapted to mesh with the racks of the member '21, so as toraise and lower the frame, and it will be seen that by throwing said rack into engagement with the pinion, the same can be raised and lowered. Fixed on the other end of the shaft 30 is a sprocket wheel 32, over which passes a sprocket chain 33 carried by a sprocket 34 fixed on the drive shaft 13 of the engine, so that the shaft 30 will be rotated at the same time the shaft 9 is rotated, whereby it is only necessary to throw one of the racks into engagement With the pinion in order to raise and lower the frame 15.

in operating the ra'bk member 21, when it is desired to lower the frame 15, the lever 25 is thrown to the position shown in Fig. l which Will bring the rack teeth into engagement with the pinion 31, thereby lowering the rack member 21 and the frame 15 at a speed in accordance with the speed at which the pinion 31 is driven. By means of the sprocket wheels 32 and 31 the speed of the pinion 31 is so regulated as to lower the frame 15 coincident to the downward movement of the post, thns maintaining the hammers at such position as to deliver the blow squarely on the end of the post. iVhen it is desired to again elevate the frame 15, the lever 25 is thrown in the opposite direction from that shown in Fig. 1, which will swing the member 21 on its pivot and inove the teeth 36 of the rack into engagement with the pinion 31, when the member 21. and the frame attached thereto Will he moved npwardly a proper distance. After the frame 153 has reached its upper limit, it is held in its elevated. position by introducing a pin 55 through-an opening 56 in one section of one of the uprights 8, the pin extei'iding into the space between the sections of the up right and below the guide block of the frame, thus preventing the downward movement of the frame. The lever 25 is then moved so as to swing both sets of teeth out of engagement with the pinion 31 so that the rack member 21 Will not be engaged by the pinion,

What- I claim is:

1. A. machine of the kind described, corn: prising a Wheeled frame having uprights at one end, a frame slidably mounted. in said uprights, a shaft carried by said frame, means for driving said shaft, hammers operated by said shaft, a double'rack frame pivotally connected to the slidably mounted frame, a driven pinion adapted to mesh with the rack portions of said rack frame, and a lever for operating s'aid rack frame.

2. In a machine of the kind described, the combination With a Wheeled frame having an engine mounted thereon provided with a drive shaft, of a pair of uprights mounted on one end of said frame provided with gnidewvays, a frame slidably mounted in said guide-Ways, carrying a horizontal shaft provided with a beveled gear, a vertical shaft arranged along side of one of said uprights carrying a beveled gear meshing with said bevel gear, means for driving said vertical shaft from said' engine, a double rack frame pivotally connected to the slidably mounted frame, a pinion adapted to engage the rack portions ofsaid frame, means for driving said pinion from said engine, and means for shifting the position of said double rack frame in respect to the pinion.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name in this specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

MELVIN T, FITZGERALD! Witnesses N. Hansen,

5. H. Ji'RASLIE. 

